Chicago wants to become the most environmentally friendly city in the United States and is working hard to achieve its goals. The Chicago Climate Action Plan has been developed to serve as a model for cities from around the world and demonstrates how urban communities can be bold and help protect the natural environment. Green roofs are flourishing in various parts of Chicago: they have been integrated in some private and public residences (Chicago’s City Hall has its own rooftop garden), have transformed public spaces (the Millennium Park is a green roof built on top of a garage) and have turned several skyscrapers green.

The Chicago Center for Green Technology offers guidance to homeowners and professionals who want to benefit from cost-effective green technology. The center organizes regular workshops that emphasize on the many advantages of having a green roof: it cleans and retains rainwater, it helps reduce energy consumption, it lowers air temperatures, it improves the urban air quality, it extends the life of a roof membrane by 2 or 3 times, and last but not least, it can add beauty to our urban landscape.